Our
house in Yosemite Valley, after a heavy
winter snowstorm. It had 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and
cost only $200 a month in rent--and it had views
of Yosemite Falls, Glacier Point and Half Dome.
It was tough to leave...
Oakhurst,
California, at sunset after a winter snowstorm. Oakhurst
is located 15 miles south of Yosemite National Park
and an hour north of Fresno. It has a population
of about 15,000 people.
49774
Road 426, Suite B. West Coast Imaging's home for 8
years.
Effective
January 5, 2007: We
have moved to a bigger location at 40094 Highway
49, Suite A in Oakhurst.
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by Susan Seiling, Owner
The first inklings of West Coast Imaging
began while Rich and I prepared dinner
after a day's work at The Ansel Adams
Gallery in Yosemite Valley. There is
nothing like a full belly and a beer
to fuel your dreams, and after a bit
of talking, we quickly realized we could
replace Rich's wages as assistant curator
fairly easy by making prints for photographers
we knew in Yosemite Valley. Our initial
intent was to grow the business just
enough to give us some extra cash to
invest in more film and lenses for Rich's
photography, while also providing him
with more free time to explore his vision.
Rich's
digital imaging skills and his aesthetic knowledge
of photography resulted in prints that surpassed
our client's expectations. Word spread, and he quickly
became very busy.
One
evening in May of 1998, we went for a walk around Yosemite
Valley. We stopped in the middle of Sentinel Bridge
to watch the river pass beneath us. Rich had just met
Galen Rowell at the gallery and Galen was interested
in having him make a full exhibition of prints for
his gallery in Emeryville. As we stared at the rapids
and talked about our future, it became clear that I
needed to quit my job as an assistant manager at The
Ansel Adams Gallery to help him pursue the business.
God
is good.
The
business has grown rapidly, and we now boast a staff
of 14 amazingly gifted people who are dedicated to
delivering the best possible scans and prints. We have
developed a very large client base that stretches around
the world--98% of our business comes from outside the
Oakhurst/Yosemite area and 60% of our business is from
outside California.
Through
all of the growth and changes, we've remained committed
to delivering the very best prints and scans possible.
When we feel the need to grow our staff, we hire more
people and invest our time in training them in the
West Coast Imaging Way. When we see an exciting new
printer on the market, we research it--and if we deem
it worthy--we buy it. We are committed to researching
and implementing the best new processes and print making
techniques as they are invented.
We're
continually amazed at how our business has grown; the
wonderful people we work with every day; and the projects
that we've had the opportunity to be involved with.
Without a doubt, the most exciting part of my job is
talking to our clients, and learning about their passions,
plans and dreams. Perhaps it's my entrepreneurial spirit
that likes to be fed by like-minded dreamers.
Since
we started our business before the birth of our children,
I've joked with clients that West Coast Imaging is
Rich's and my first baby. And like a child, it has
grown to become about so much more than Rich and I.
It's compelled us to keep ourselves worthy of our reputation
as a world-class digital imaging studio; to share our
lives in a meaningful way with our clients and staff
members; to provide jobs in an economically depressed
area of California; and to create a community where
photography is celebrated every single day. Thank you
for making the dream of West Coast Imaging a reality.
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